Callie and Lexi's Kiss List | ✓

45: Lexi

I feel like I need to upload this chapter and the next this weekend... so that you all have time to process... I'll at least give you this one for now.

Thanks already to jueka1 for commenting on the last two chapters.

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The next day during first break, Callie, Sara, and I forwarded off to the office and asked to speak with the Community Counsellor. The office ladies gave us raised eyebrows considering we were white, but to hell with their confusion.

The Counsellor was quick to say we could come in though. 

All three of us forwarding into her office, we sat on her couch across from her while she looked at us expectantly. 

"My name is Elaine," she said, pressing her hand to her chest. "How can I help you girls?"

But while Callie sat there, wide-eyed, frozen in her state and unsure how to repeat all we had rehearsed, I decided to step in for her.

"My sister, Callie," I indicated to her with my hand, "Is dating Flynn Thomson, and he's not at school right now because he's lost someone and we want to know how to support him without overstepping boundaries with his culture," I bursted out in one breath.

"I heard that Flynn is attending Sorry Business right now," Elaine acknowledged, leaning forward in her chair as her eyes assessed us. But then she gave Callie a slight smile. "Dating, hey?"

Callie turned her gaze to her lap, cheeks tinting red. "It's new..."

But the smile immediately dropped from Elaine's face as she nodded and leaned back in her chair. "Each family has different practices and responsibilities when they grieve the loss of a loved one—"

"It's someone he called his uncle," Callie quickly added.

Elaine paused then nodded again. "I heard he had passed. As I'm sure Flynn may have told you, he was really important in community and we know the role he has had in not just Flynn's life, but also the other kids at this school."

Callie's eyes went a little glassy before she said, "So how can I support him?"

The counsellor sighed. "Be patient. Give him time to grieve. And... be as understanding as you can."

"How can I... be understanding? Like, what can I do?"

"The only thing you can do right now is wait, Callie. Sorry Business can take a really long time until everyone is ready to stop grieving, and often this means focussing just on memorial rituals and not institutions like school. But as for understanding, more so I suggest you prepare yourself that Flynn might be a little different when he comes back. He may not talk to you for a while as he goes through this grief with his family. His own responsibility in the community may change. As I heard, Flynn played a big role in helping his Uncle."

"He can't have responsibility. He's still a kid," Callie snapped.

Elaine went quiet, her eyes searching Callie's distraught face. "We know he is a kid and we are going to work with his family to see him finish his education. But you've come here to ask how to support him—"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," she whispered, lowering her head. "Please continue."

She waited a few more moments, as though to ensure Callie really was done, then went on. "As I said, things will be different for Flynn. Not only has he lost someone important, he will have new responsibilities, lots of worries, and will have missed a lot of school. You're just going to have to learn to be patient as he figures out how to navigate these things for himself before pressuring him with how you fit in."